Because of the nutritional value of avocados and the fact that they are available year round, I’m always looking for more and more ways to use them. A few months ago I came across an Avocado and Onion Saladin my favorite cookbook, Gran Cocina Latina, the 2013 James Beard Foundation Cookbook of the Year. It sounded delicious because I love the classic combination of avocado and onion, and then the addition of a garlic-lime vinaigrette just seemed to be a perfect match. And it was. However, in my opinion, it was missing something, primarily texture. So the next time I made it, I embellished on the original recipe by adding sweet and spicy pepitas and cotija cheese, and by tweaking the vinaigrette a bit. Voilá!

I don’t remember when I discovered that a dinner salad could be more than iceberg lettuce and bottled dressing, but WHEW- I’m so glad I finally did! Of course I do have to say that there was a time when iceberg lettuce was the only lettuce you could find at the grocer, thus its past popularity. But now let’s ponder this question. Does a dinner salad really have to have lettuce at all? Actually – No.

A dinner salad can be just about anything you want it to be. It can be made with just a few ingredients or a whole host of ingredients, none of which are lettuce. The main thing I enjoy about making a salad is incorporating different textures and flavors, and – in my opinion – the fewer the better. This avocado, orange, cucumber salad is representative of the type of salad that Bobby and I love to eat. It only has three main ingredients – avocado, orange, cucumber, and the dressing (if you can call it that) is a little lime juice, some sea salt and a dusting of red chile powder. It’s a refreshing little salad that makes a great brunch, lunch or side at dinnertime.

My friends and family will all tell you that I’m not big on sandwiches; however, I do like grilled sandwiches. So in honor of National Grilled Cheese month, I’m sharing a Green Chile Grilled Cheese or more appropriately called Green Chile Turkey Enchiladas Grilled Cheese Sandwich, but that name is just a little too long. There’s also a similar sandwich called Albuquerque Turkey – so lots of inspiration for this sandwich!

If you like green chile chicken or turkey enchiladas, then you’ll love this sandwich! It’s made with New Mexico roasted and chopped green chile, avocado, turkey, and of course – cheese. How can you not love that?

Now this is what I call a salad! We love salads and some of our favorite salads have beans as a primary ingredient. This Spicy Bean Salad was made with chipotle seasoned bolita beans; however, pinto beans or black beans could also be used. Click this link for the Spicy Bolita Beans recipe.

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